Endless Nights of Fire and Ice
by GoddessofMischief2014
Summary: After being separated as teenagers, childhood friends Loki and Sigyn are reunited as adults and immediately made aware that nothing is the same. The two fight the feelings that flame so brightly between them, but when Sigyn comes to Loki for help when she is being forced to marry another, his unusual help ends up causing much more harm than good. Very strong M rating, Pre-Thor.
1. Prologue: Protect You Always

_**Endless Nights of Fire and Ice**_

"_The hottest burning fires are the ones that you never even saw ignited."_

_**A Loki Fan Fiction by:**_

_GoddessofMischief2014_

* * *

_**Prologue: Protect You Always, My Love, I Will…**_

"When love is involved no sacrifice is too great."

— David Eddings 

…And just as Lucifer fell from the kingdom of heaven after he had so maliciously betrayed his Lord, I too descended through the blackened starless night sky surrounding me after betraying the only gods that I had ever come to know. Desperate screams of my lover's anguish consumed voice echoed high above my head as I continued to plummet faster and faster with every passing second toward the unknown earth below me, and the pain of love's most truest form of heartbreak ached deeply inside of my chest over a despair that my mind would not even attempt to fully allow me to understand. The thick hazy atmosphere that continued to painfully assault my delicate skin was scorching hot as my small body quickly slipped between two darkened midnight clouds, and as I dropped even further, I finally forced myself to lower my terrified emerald colored eyes down to the space beneath me as I foolishly attempted to prepare myself for what was just about to come. As the hardened surface of an unknown realm came quickly into my helpless view, all of the muscles inside of my body tightened to the point of a deeply aggravated pain, and the oxygen that had once flowed freely within the confines of my lungs, dissipated as quickly as it had once entered. My heart pounded hard enough inside of my chest that I feared that it might actually attempt to break free from its fragile bone covered cage, and helplessness surged through my desperately out of control system as I searched my mind for any possible last minute escape from my ill appearing fate. Reality closed in on me from all directions as the last of my most cherished memories seemed to somehow slip out of my chaos consumed mind, and then painfully quickly they disappeared into the air around me before I could even attempt to hold onto them. Finally, just as I felt myself closing in on the rough appearing surface below me, I slowly closed my watery eyes and silently allowed myself to utter my lover's name deep inside of my heart just one last time. Then, as my last sacred word quickly disappeared into my soul where it had first been created, I felt my fragile form crash abruptly into the cold hard surface beneath me with the force of a thousand stones colliding with the strongest of steel.

The painfully loud echo of my own voice screaming out in agony from inside of the confines of my aching throat was the first sound that I was able to hear the moment that I finally returned to consciousness covered in ragged pieces of earth, and more of my own blood than I had ever before seen. A blur of unknown strangers around me flashed quickly before my tear filled eyes as I attempted to move any part of my body that was still able or willing, but as I heard yet another of my brittle bones beginning to crack from deep inside of me, I quickly decided that it was wisest to remain still. My eyes slowly scanned the foreign appearing world surrounding me as people rushed around my body in what appeared to be complete panic, and my heart pounded erratically inside of my chest in what I assumed to be its last desperate effort to keep my so carelessly abused body even somewhat alive. _Had I been mortal, I would have been dead the second that I had hit the ground. To be honest, had I been mortal, I would have been liquefied the second that I hit the ground._

"Ma'am? Ma'am? Oh my God! Ma'am are you okay?" I heard a horror consumed female voice suddenly ask (or to be completely honest scream) from somewhere close beside me, quickly pulling me out of my inner questioning, and returning me to whatever reality it was that I was currently trapped in.

"I'm so sorry…please…no…" I heard myself plead for absolutely no rhyme or reason that made any sense to me just as I began to feel blood beginning to pool at the back of my aching throat, and immediately attempt to choke me with its incredibly thick repulsive force.

"Okay, okay. Shh….sweetie, it's okay. We called an ambulance, and they will be here very soon to help you. Everything is going to be okay, just please don't move or talk. Holy shit, how are you still alive?" The woman continued frantically with her last few words sounding as more of a question to herself rather than a question or statement of reassurance toward me. I nodded as I swallowed thickly nearly gagging on the taste of my own life force that was still obviously attempting to kill me since my fall from the gods only knew where unfortunately hadn't, and then I finally released an agony filled shaking breath of complete confusion. _Wait…where exactly had I fallen from?_

"The ambulance and the New York PD are on their way. Jesus Christ, she looks dead. Is she even still breathing?" I heard a man's rough voice suddenly ask from above me as he approached the destroyed terrain in which I laid, and then coughed loudly obviously not even attempting to cover his foul mouth. My heart immediately picked up speed inside of my chest once again as fear began to course through what was left of my barely working fragile system. _What in the hell was New York?_

"Just barely. Her fingers have moved a few times, but as soon as she does it, she starts crying and then stops right away. She keeps whispering things that I can't understand and keeps saying names that I've never heard of before. Do you think that she jumped from one of the buildings up there or something?" The woman beside me asked obviously now speaking to the man next to her, and no longer addressing me in my obviously incoherent state.

"She would've had to have jumped from the Empire State Building to land like this, and even from there….Jesus Christ, she was going so fucking fast." The man answered in what sounded like complete shock filled awe, and also obviously using idiotic vulgarity in an attempt to drive his point home as quickly as possible. The woman beside me sighed heavily as I felt one of her fingers beginning to trace carefully and ever so gently over the ripped skin of my left hand. _Her fingers felt like knives as they tore painfully against my tattered flesh._

"She's married. Look at that ring, John…it's beautiful. Have you ever seen gold that sparkled like that?" The woman asked in an almost breathless sort of voice as she continued touching my hand that was now practically throbbing with intense pain. The man beside her laughed quietly to himself just before he quickly cleared his throat, and then he released a labored sigh as well. _I really did not believe that now was the time for laughter, but to each their own._

"This woman probably just broke every bone in her body, and is about to die, and you are sitting here admiring her fucking jewelry? I swear, Lisa." He said as I heard the earth beneath his feet quickly beginning to shift, signaling to me that he was once again moving. The woman he had called Lisa groaned to herself, and then began shifting slightly where she had knelt over me as well.

"No, I'm just saying that it's sad, that's all. She has a husband somewhere…possibly children, and now she's going to die all alone in the middle of Fifth Avenue. What in the world would have made her jump like that?" She asked as I could hear an actual sadness beginning to flood her soft young voice that I hadn't heard just a few moments before. My heart ached inside of my chest as I thought her question over inside of my shockingly still working mind. _Was I actually married? Did I have children? Would I have really jumped? And, from where was it that I had jumped from in the first place?_

Unfortunately for me, I quickly realized that none of the questions that I had so carefully pondered inside of my mind would be answered any time soon or possibly even ever at all. Within what felt like just a few short seconds of the last sentence leaving Lisa's lips there was suddenly a mad rush of voices, screams, and of course curse words that began to rush around my head, and hands that quickly began prodding at my body causing me more pain than I believed that I could honestly handle. Before I realized what was happening my body was quickly lifted onto something that felt like a very poor excuse for a bed, and then I was carried somewhere else that hurriedly began rushing me away into the distance. For the remainder of my trip to wherever it was that the frantically stressed strangers around me were taking me, I fell in and out of a haunting consciousness that caused me to sob uncontrollably for reasons that I didn't even completely understand. By the time that I finally felt the unit around me that I was being transported in stop moving, I could barely even remember my own name, and none of the words that were being spoken to me made any sense at all. After another few grueling moments of attempting to understand where it was that I was being taken, I finally gave up and resigned myself to the situation that I was currently in. With one last deep inhale, I closed my eyes and then relaxed back where I very uncomfortably lay in absolute surrender. I offered myself up to the gods above me, and then sacrificed myself to the complete and total darkness of my suspected final death.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed or if time had even moved by me at all, but after what felt like endless nights spent in the fires of a silent hell, I finally took in the first sounds that I had been able to hear ever since I had crashed into the earth what felt like nearly a lifetime before. Screaming women, angry men, and the distinct sound of breaking glass filled my ears as commotion erupted all around me and confused my remaining senses with their suddenness after such a quiet rest. I heard the quick fast paced heavy footsteps of a man's feet approaching me just as some of the noise had finally begun to cease, and then without warning of any kind, I was suddenly scooped up into two very masculine feeling muscle bound arms and was being carried quickly away to somewhere completely unknown to me.

"Sir, if you do not put her down this instant I will be forced to call the police! She is still unstable! You will kill her!" A woman's frantic squeaking voice that I had never heard before yelled as I began to hear the squeal of an alarm roaring above my head, and the loud beeping of some contraption just to my left that sounded as if it was suddenly completely breaking down. I forced my eyes closed even further than they had been before in an attempt to block out the pain of being held so tightly after sustaining my most recent nearly fatal injuries, and then I buried my face deeply into my kidnapper's chest. _Wait, he felt familiar…he smelled familiar too._

"Do not touch me! You know not who she is and you know not how to care for her. Now, move out of my way or you will suffer a wrath that was not truly meant for you." I heard the man carrying me say in a booming voice that rumbled deep inside of him as he shifted in another direction and then began moving much more quickly away from where he had been before. There was a silence from the people around us, and then before I heard any further protest, I heard something heavy beginning to open directly in front of me. Slowly, I gathered the courage to finally open my eyes, and then eventually, I forced myself to take in the bright stabbing view of the orange midday sun and all of the painful beauty that it had to offer. I took in a slow deep breath as I squinted my burning eyes in an attempt to focus in on what was around me, and then just as I carefully attempted to lift my head, I felt my mind beginning to swirl out of control once again. The last thing that I can remember seeing before I once again parted ways with my consciousness for what felt like the tenth time of the day was the bright rich color of crimson flowing beautifully in the warm wind, and the glistening shine of glowing silver metal blazing before my tired eyes.

The warm press of freshly laundered sheets gently caressed the flesh of my aching cheek as I slowly began to awaken from my heavy slumber, and finally once again escaped from the prison of darkness where my weakened mind had so cruelly encaged me. The soft feel of a cool early summer breeze moved gently through the tangles of my hair as I finally took in the first breath that I could remember ever taking, and also quickly reminded me that I was still in fact surprisingly quite alive. My heart pounded in a rhythmic peace inside of my chest as I shifted slightly where I lay, and the dull ache of a familiar pain that radiated through my fragile body alerted me that my fall from the darkened clouds of the universe had been much more than simply a bad dream. I heard whispers coming from somewhere in front of me as I continued to carefully move from where it was that I had been sleeping, and then as I finally pushed open my tired eyes, I took in the faces of four complete strangers standing only a short distance away.

"Sigyn, thank the gods, you are finally awake." A man with a warm smile and long golden spun hair said happily from his seat just a few feet away from me, causing me to sit up immediately and subsequently nearly fall off of what appeared to be my makeshift bed. _How did this man know my name, and how the hell did I get into this bed?_

"Where am I?" I stuttered in a fearful voice as I steadied my body on the small cot that I was now shakily sitting on, and then I drew my blankets up around my slightly chilled trembling form. The man with golden hair sighed as he pushed himself up to stand, and then slowly began making his way closer toward me in a very slow and confident kind of pace.

"You are…in New York City, Sigyn. You are…on Earth." He said carefully as he finally knelt down slowly in front of me, shrinking his nearly six foot five form down closer into my view, and thus causing the thick cords of muscles covering his body to bulge beneath the material of his clothing like painfully pressurized grapefruits. I swallowed thickly as I took in the information that he had just given me and then I carefully searched my brain for facts that I was certain that I must have known regarding how it was that I had actually fallen into the realm of the unfortunately delicate mortals.

"But…I am from…I am from Asgard." I finally stuttered out as a broken image of a beautiful golden city filled with breathtaking flowers, entrancing waters, and the most powerful warriors in all of the realms flashed before my mind just before then vanishing almost immediately into the air around me. The man in front of me nodded slowly as he smiled warmly in my direction.

"Yes, you are. Sigyn…do you not know who it is that I am?" He asked carefully as he searched my face for answers that I could tell that he hoped that I had, but that I so desperately still couldn't seem to find no matter how hard that I looked. I released a breath as I felt tears beginning to burn deep inside of my eyes, and my lower lip beginning to tremble just beneath the other. _Why did I want to cry? Why did I know that I knew this man, but couldn't remember ever before seeing his face?_

"No, I am so sorry. I do not know who you are." I whispered as I bit down on my bottom lip in an attempt to stop it in its incessant shaking, and then forced myself to suck in a steadying breath. The man in front of me sighed as he turned back toward another man with short dark hair and chestnut colored eyes that was standing just a few feet behind him with his arms crossed over his chest and a quizzical look on his handsome face.

"Because of what she is…I find it difficult to reason that she is suffering from what you mortals would refer to as amnesia, Dr. Banner. Could there be another explanation as to why it is that she cannot remember me?" The golden haired man asked him with great concern flooding his deeply imposing masculine voice. Dr. Banner released a breath as he appeared to attempt to think carefully to himself, and then after a few silent moments, he shook his head slowly in reply.

"Nothing that my science would be able to answer, Thor, no. I have a feeling that the cause of her amnesia has less to do with her rapidly recovering brain damage, and more to do with something slightly more powerful or even possibly...magical." He said as he nodded at him knowingly and then nodded back toward me with a kind soft smile. The golden haired man that the doctor had called Thor knelt down in front of me, and then released an intensely labored breath just as his soft blue eyes slowly lifted up toward mine. _His name sounded so familiar…_

"My brother. He must have put a spell on her. He must have placed a block in her memory." He said as he looked down at the floor between us appearing to attempt to find his answers somewhere down at his feet, and also apparently once again talking to someone other than me. Anger quickly surged through my veins at the answer that he had so effortlessly given, and then rage began to immediately spew from the cracked confines of my full trembling lips before I could even attempt to stop it.

"Someone has put a spell on me?! How dare a deceptive sorcerer take away my memory! Where is this brother of yours? Bring him here at once so that he can undo the upset that he has caused me." I yelled loudly as I imagined unleashing the full extent of my fury onto this cowardly sorcerer in the most violent way that I knew possible, and then laughing in his face as he begged me for my mercy. Thor smiled as his pale blue eyes once again met mine, and then he quickly attempted to mask his humor as he took in the upset look that plagued my face.

"I assure you, Sigyn, my brother only did what he did to protect you. Unfortunately, I do not know where he is so that he might answer for his transgressions, and that is why I so desperately need your help." He said as his expression once again became serious and he shifted his massive form slightly closer toward mine. I swallowed thickly as I begin to fidget uneasily where I sat, and then quickly dropped my eyes down to the floor beneath me.

"I apologize, but I do not think that I will be able to help you. I can barely remember my own name, Thor. How in the world am I to help you find your trickster of a brother in my obviously useless state?" I asked feeling suddenly worthless, and as if I had failed the man in front of me in a way that I could not even attempt to make any sort of repentance. _Why did I care what Thor thought? I had never even met him before this day…had I?_

"Sigyn, you are far from useless. You have a connection with my brother that no one else in all of the nine realms has or ever will have in the future, and that is why it is only you that can help me in my search to find him. All of the magic in the world could never block out the bind that you share with him, and deep inside of you somewhere you know that. I believe that if you fight hard enough you can push past the magic that he has projected inside of you. I believe that you can remember if you truly try, Sigyn, and I so desperately need you to try." Thor whispered as he sat knelt before me staring pleadingly into my eyes, and in turn ripping violently at the insides of my very soul. I sighed as I felt emotions beginning to swirl around inside of me that I did not understand or even recognize, and then I slowly reached out and carefully touched his hand.

"Your love for your brother is very complicated." I whispered as I felt a pain inside of me that I knew was not mine, and then squeezed Thor's hand even tighter as it grew in its intensity. The man before me nodded as he wrapped his thick fingers carefully around mine, and then released a heavy breath from between his perfect ivory teeth just as I felt a sheen of sweat beginning to bead up on his rough skin.

"And so is yours." He said softly as he smiled with kindness pouring from his lips, and sincerity dripping from his few words. Tears once again brimmed on the edges of my eyes, and as they did, memories without pictures or sounds attempted to push their way into my confused mind without my much desired permission.

"I feel emptiness deep inside of my heart, and it hurts far worse than any of the physical injuries that I have endured. Did your brother's magic do this to me as well, Thor?" I asked as the first of my tears finally slipped down over my lash line, and then slid slowly down the length of my face. Thor released a heavy breath as he squeezed my hand tightly in his, and then shook his head very slowly.

"No, Sigyn that was not his magic." He replied softly. I nodded slowly as my tears began to rush more quickly down over my skin, and then I suddenly looked up away from Thor as the bright crimson color of a woman's hair came into my view, and distracted me from my previous heartfelt conversation.

"Here, this might help her." The woman with a subtle hint of an accent that I had never heard before said as she handed Thor what appeared to be a large leather cloak of some kind, and then smiled kindly at me just before she then slowly once again backed away. I swallowed as I kept my eyes on her not knowing at all who she was, and then slowly turned my attention back toward Thor as I heard him carefully clear his throat.

"Sigyn, the reason that I brought you here and the reason why it is so important that we find my brother, is because I believe that he is in great danger. I fear for his safety and I also fear for the safety of another that means a great deal…to us all." Thor began once again as he lifted his eyes back up to mine, and then locked tightly in on my gaze. I nodded slowly as I saw true fear begin to move into the once still blue waters of his eyes, and then swallowed thickly inside of my throat.

"Tell me what happened to them. Maybe your story will help me remember." I said as I tried to focus my attention on the task at hand, and not let my mind wander to the heartache that seemed to have quickly settled deep inside of my chest at the mention of Thor's sorcerer brother that I couldn't remember having ever even met. Thor once again released a heavy emotion filled breath.

"Sigyn, my brother committed a very serious crime against the king…Kingdom of Asgard. He did not do so maliciously, but out of a heartbroken desperation that he did not know what to do with. He was messy and not mindful in his betrayal, and therefore he was swiftly caught." He began as he suddenly avoided my eyes, and then immediately turned his focus back down toward the floor. I swallowed as I felt my heart beginning to pound wildly inside of my chest and adrenaline beginning to course through my veins.

"Go on." I whispered softly as I attempted to reign in the whirlwind of emotions that I fought desperately to keep inside of me.

"After he was caught, he attempted to throw himself at the mercy of the throne in order to protect those that he loved, but unfortunately there was no mercy left to be given. Madness consumed him quickly, and after he was sentenced to a life in chains, his desperation only became more so out of control than it had been before. He hid those that he loved away and in turn, he took on the full wrath of King Odin himself. I am unsure of what has happened to him, but from the kingdom of Asgard, he has disappeared. I need to find him, Sigyn. We both need to find him." Thor whispered as I heard pain consuming him at a rapid rate, and fear eating him from the inside out. I swallowed thickly beginning to feel anxiety quickly moving over me, and realizing that I had felt the beginnings of panic most likely for a very good reason.

"He was not alone in his crimes against the throne, but he took on the blame completely. Am I correct in my assumption?" I asked in a shaky voice as I stared down at the grand expanse of a man before me, and prayed that he would tell me the lie that I so desperately wanted to hear. Thor lifted his head, and then slowly nodded in reply.

"You are." He whispered. I nodded as tears began running down my face even faster than before, and I suddenly could hear a man's voice screaming inside of my head that I recognized, but still unfortunately could not completely place. _I was going mad…_

"And, who is it that he has hidden away?" I asked as I felt fear beginning to surge through my body, and questions that I knew could not be answered racing through my mind. Thor swallowed thickly once again.

"The first…was you." He started as he held my stare carefully with his. I released another shaky breath realizing that I was most likely the other person responsible for his brother's crimes, and thus the reason that he was now missing and I was trapped in the mundane realm known as Earth.

"And, the other?" I asked quietly as my voice slightly cracked from overwhelming withheld emotion that was violently threatening to break free. Thor was silent for a moment as I could tell that he momentarily questioned continuing, but then parted his lips slowly before he finally began to speak once again.

"Aleksander." He said in a tone so low that it was barely audible, and I was certain that the mortals around me hadn't even had the chance at being able to hear. My heart ached deeper as that name rang painfully loud against my ears, and sounds of cries that were not my own began to echo inside of my mind. _My insides ached…I knew that name…somehow I knew this Aleksander._

"So, you believe that I can help you find your brother…and in turn find this…Aleksander?" I asked as my last word came out in a slightly cracked tone of voice as my tears began to once again return to my tired eyes. Thor nodded slowly as he quickly licked his full rose colored lips.

"Yes, Sigyn, that is what I believe. Loki is the only person that would know where Aleksander is, and you are the only person that would know where Loki is. We have to find him…both of them before Odin does. If Odin were to find out where they were before we did…well that would be a tragedy that I do not wish to face." He said as his words began to trail off and worry began to plague his beautiful face. The world around me began to fade away as one particular word that Thor had said echoed within the confines of my crazy, barely still surviving young mind.

"Loki?" I choked out as I felt my body beginning to tremble and the space around me beginning to fade almost completely to the darkest shade of midnight that I had ever before seen. Thor's eyes locked in immediately on mine. _He knew that I was remembering._

"Yes, Sigyn. My brother's name is Loki." He said in a deep smooth voice as he kept his eyes tightly on mine. I swallowed as I slowly reached out an unsteady opened hand toward the man before me.

"May I please touch the fabric that you carry?" I asked of the leather cloak that Thor still held tightly in his right hand. Thor nodded slowly as he began to lift his hand, and then he carefully pushed the thick material against my shaking fingertips. The memories moved into my mind without my permission the second that I touched that worn piece of leather, and no matter how hard I fought them, they rushed over me as if they had never even needed my permission at all.

Suddenly, my eyes closed as the years of memories that had been blocked from my consciousness quickly found their respective places back inside of my mind, and then immediately connected with all of the pain that had been locked deep inside of my heart. As tears ran in thick streams down the softness of my face, I clutched the leather cloak tightly against my body, and I allowed myself to relive every single moment that only a few seconds before, I had not even realized that I had ever lived at all. I sat there on that small cot trembling before the man that had rescued me from the mortals that had found me broken on the ground, and I returned to the world that I had come from, and the world that I had also so actively betrayed. I returned to the golden kingdom of beautiful breathtaking light and fearless warrior gods unaffected by the laws of the common man. I returned to the Kingdom of Asgard. I returned to Loki.

**A/N: So, what did everyone think of the first installment for this fiction? Dramatic, yes? LOL. Alright, so yes this starts as dramatic, there is a lot of yummy goodness and of course more drama. This obviously is a prologue that starts at the climax and then the main body of the story will be showing the events leading up to this point. This story will have a mucho M rating, and lots of funny, broody, controlling, adorable, and incredibly bipolar Loki to keep everyone satiated There will be cameos by The Avengers as in the prologue, but they will not serve as main characters. Also, I know this installment was super descriptive, but that was mostly to show the full experience of what was happening to Sigyn and also create imagery since she was incapacitated through most of it. Not every chapter will be so...wordy:) Anyway, I hope that if you enjoyed the prologue you will continue following along as I have big plans for this fiction. Please review if you have the time, and thank you so much for reading. Have a wonderful evening! –GoddessofMischief2014**


	2. Chapter One: Misunderstood Innocence

_**Endless Nights of Fire and Ice**_

"_The hottest burning fires are the ones that you never even saw ignited."_

_**A Loki Fan Fiction by:**_

_**GoddessofMischief2014**_

* * *

_**Chapter One: Misunderstood Innocence**_

"_Better to be blinded by love than hate; one forgives and the other refuses." __―__ T.F. Hodge_

**_Many Years Earlier..._**

As I ran barefoot through the snowy fields on the northern plains of Asgard, I silently prayed that the righteous Gods of Valhalla had momentarily turned away from their diligent watch, and were not once again disappointed in my foolishly impulsive behavior. The wind around me whipped wildly through my hair as I smiled into the beautiful darkness of the night surrounding me, and then I silently reveled in the coolness of the ice beneath my bare feet that soothed my burning hot flesh as I once again picked up in my impetuous pace. Excitement coursed wickedly through my veins as my mind raced with thoughts of being found out after once again emptily promising my parents that on this night I would for once actually remain in my bed chambers where I was expected to be, and goose bumps of anticipation burned furiously against my skin with memories of the many secret nights before. Deep inside I knew that it was completely improper for a young girl such as myself coming from a family of attendants to the throne, and soldiers of the king, to be running as fast as she could toward the royal palace barely dressed and without sensible shoes, but thankfully I knew that _he_ would not care how improper it was that I was truly being on this chilly late winter's night. I knew that _he_ would understand, and that _he_ was not like any of the others that had been ruthlessly judging me ever since the hot summer night that I had been born just a little over a decade before.

Ever since I was a small child, everyone around me knew that I was in fact very different from everyone else in our beautiful and ever so slightly magical realm, but very few people ever actually showed the courage to voice their belief directly to me. Where the other Asgardian's that made up the Golden Kingdom of demi-gods surrounding me were strong, virile, and full of strict calculated restraint; I was unusually soft, playfully whimsical, and also tended to act on nearly every single impulse that just so happened to always burn so deeply inside of me. I was different in nearly every sense of the word, and therefore I did not easily fit in with those around me, especially with the other girls of my realm. While they were busy curling their hair, standing in front of pieces of reflective glass that lied to them on a daily basis, and batting their eyelashes at every boy that walked past them in a shimmering suit of armor, I was doing much more important things with my incredibly valuable time. I was dancing in the lilac fields just behind the temple with my golden brown hair flowing wild in the sun, and then shortly after was silently sneaking off into the forest to read the secret books that I knew to my gender were absolutely forbidden. I was busy defying all of the rules that every sensible person around me so quickly created for me, and I was enjoying every single heart pounding second of it. And so, it was all of my above mentioned rebellious ways that had led me to where I was tonight: running wildly over the snow-covered earth of northern Asgard, and moving happily toward the House of Odin, where I most certainly had absolutely no right to be. I was listening to the impulsive passions that were constantly exploding from the insides of my quickly beating and as always slightly aching innocent thirteen year old heart.

Finally, after running for what felt like an eternity through the soft meadows of thick midnight snow and incredibly brittle ice, I eventually reached the tall golden steel gates that encircled the entirety of Odin's most breathtakingly beautiful royal palace. I smiled as I reached out slowly and began to run my fingertips over the thick ice covered metal before me, and then released a blissful breath as I relished in the feeling of its chill cooling my aching hot skin all around me. The winter had always been my favorite time of year ever since I had been a young child, and the fact that my most favorite requestor also just so happened to love the cold nearly as much as I did, well that had made our secret midnight meetings even that much more exciting. Finally after a few moments of allowing my mind to wander, the intense cold of the ice beneath me eventually began to burn against the soles of my bare feet, and just as I felt myself beginning to actually catch a chill, one of my hands suddenly slipped through a piece of metal that should have stopped me in my tracks. I smiled to myself as I pushed my hand once again through what now was obviously an incredibly mastered optical illusion, and then carefully ducked my head toward the massive gate before me. My requestor's magic seemed to be getting stronger with every passing day, and the fact that he had even used a small amount of it to break the rules in order to see me warmed my heart in ways that my words could never even attempt to truly explain.

Once inside of the confines of the palace grounds, I quickly found my legs not able to move fast enough in order to keep up with the excitement that was suddenly bubbling up wildly from deep inside of me. I quickly darted through the back acres of the massive estate until I finally saw the frosted glass of our secret meeting place, and then increased my speed in blissful anticipation once again. By the time that I finally reached the glass encased garden just a short distance away from the palace's expansive back doors, I was completely out of breath and flushed from head to toe. My heart pounded furiously inside of my chest as I slipped quietly in through one of the large slightly frosted rose garden doors, and then I felt my heart jump up even faster as soon as I saw the person that I had risked my very little given freedom in order to see. My very best friend and my only true confidant in the entire realm in which I lived. My Loki.

Sitting just a few feet away from where I stood chilled to the bone, was the youngest Prince of Asgard and the second in line to the throne, Prince Loki Odinson. He sat relaxed and reclined back against one of the frigid panes of greenhouse glass with his long legs stretched out in front of him, and his dark onyx colored hair was falling messily onto his forehead just as it almost always usually did. He held one of his favorite books in his long hands, and as usual, he appeared to not have a single care in all of the world. He was dressed in his typical black attire that he wore especially when sparring in the training halls with his older brother, and he had a brand new bruise marking his left cheekbone from what I imagined to be from one in the same. Loki's head snapped up the second that I entered the room, and then his bright ocean colored eyes lit up as he carefully took in my face. He jumped up from where he sat and in an instant he was standing just a few steps in front of me. He smiled as he grabbed my hand and then before I could even say a single word, he began dragging me swiftly across the room in the opposite direction from where I had previously stood.

"It has happened, Sigyn. It has finally happened. Come look with me." Loki said excitedly as he pulled my chilled body along behind his at a much quicker pace than I was used to walking. I giggled to myself as I attempted to keep up, and then nearly collided with my friend's back the second that he abruptly stopped moving in his tracks just in front of me.

"What is it, Loki? What could have you so excited in the rose garden at such a late hour?" I asked with a smile as I attempted to peer around his shoulder to sneak a peek at what he was looking at. Loki quickly shook his head and then in a second he was suddenly standing behind me, and had his hands cupped over my eyes so that I didn't even have the option to attempt to see what it was that had him so strangely elated so late in the night.

"It is your surprise. What I believe that you have been waiting for." He said sweetly. I giggled as I tried to wiggle out of Loki's grasp, but alas his superior strength and cunning skills were as usual far too much for me to even attempt to challenge.

"Have I not told you about magicking yourself around like that, Loki? It is not fair to those of us who aren't as blessed." I said with a laugh as I crossed my arms over my chest in fake anger, and then laughed happily in spite of myself just under my breath. Loki laughed behind me and then leaned down closer toward my ear.

"You are blessed, Sigyn, your magic is just simply different from mine. Now, open your eyes and see your gift." He said as he slowly released his hands from my eyes, and then took a small step back away from my body. I adjusted my vision for a short moment after being in the dark, and then gasped as I took in the vision that had been presented before me.

For the past year, I had been sneaking out nearly every night in order to see my only true friend in the entire realm, and that was Prince Loki. We would run and play in the yards just behind the palace, sneak into his mother's most treasured library, and sometimes even play tricks on his older brother Thor in order to keep ourselves entertained. What we did most of the time, however, was spend the dark hours of the night in the palace rose garden reading books, and creating vivid fantasies of how our young lives would one day unfold as soon as we finally got older. While we did this, I would often admire the beautiful roses that Queen Frigga prized more than even the books that she so often visited in her own utterly endless personal library, and I would dream of one day surrounding myself with their beautiful fragrant presence. One rose in particular, however, had always interested me more than any of the others that I had ever seen, and was one that I studied quite intently nearly every single day that I was lucky enough to be in its presence. The rose was incredibly deep crimson in color, had the darkest shade of black just brimming its delicate edges, and it appeared to be closer to the brink of death nearly every day that I looked at it as opposed to its expected bloom like the other flowers surrounding it. As the days went on the rose never died, but when winter finally came, its petals became covered in a beautiful frost that had clung to its soft surface for months on end, and appeared to freeze it permanently in its sickened state. Tonight, however, the rose had finally changed from its once sickly frigid existence, and had shifted into something much different than it had been before. The rose had finally changed, and I had been one of the first people allowed to actually see it.

"Loki, it's beautiful." I whispered as I took a step closer toward the large burgundy colored bloom that had now not only blushed more beautifully in its color, but had also opened up to show the world its vibrant silk petals. I smiled as I admired it, but I was incredibly careful not to touch it in fear that I would damage its newfound breathtaking beauty.

"It opened just this evening when the moon reached the center of the sky. It has never opened before. I think that it has opened because of you." Loki said as he finally moved up to stand at my side. I smiled as I turned my head back toward my friend, and then swallowed the tears that I did not understand why I felt that I was suddenly about to cry.

"Thank you for showing this to me, Loki. I will cherish it here every day, just as I cherish you." I said as I nodded toward him. Loki smiled as he nodded back toward the spot where he had previously been sitting just before I had arrived only a few moments before.

"Would you like to come sit down? My mother has brought me another book from the archives. I think that you will really enjoy it." He said as he took a step backward toward the chilled glass, and then motioned for me to follow him. I nodded as I turned back once more to look at my rose, and then finally tore myself away from the beautifully magical vision just before eventually joining Loki at his seat.

Of all of the many pleasures that I had experienced so far in my young life, one of my most cherished indulgences (besides that of Queen Frigga's beautiful roses) was that of sitting in silence, and listening to Loki read. The two of us had been friends for many years, and in all honestly, when I had first met him, I had barely even known how to read myself at all. It wasn't until all of the nights that we had hidden away together that I had truly learned the beauty and allure of the written word, and listening to those words put to the tune of Loki's comforting voice had seemed to make them even that much more meaningful to my young mind. On this particular night, as I laid next to Loki in the chilled space of his mother's rose garden, he read to me of sorcery and magic beyond even what either one of us could have ever possibly imagined. He spoke of casting illusions so great that they could fool even the wisest of men, and using the magic that would come from one's hands as a weapon even stronger than that of the mightiest sword. The excitement over the story that he was reading was evident in Loki's voice, and that excitement proved to be quite contagious, as it immediately seemed to spread to me.

"Loki, do you think that one day I would be strong enough for you to teach me magic?" I asked, as at my young age I was still incredibly confused on how magic worked, and if we all possessed it in our realm or if it was something simply only a few were blessed enough to have.

"I never knew that you were interested in learning sorcery. Is this book that enticing to you, Sigyn?" Loki asked with a slight amount of humor in his voice as he closed the book he held over his finger, and then tilted his head over towards mine in sudden interest. I smiled as I shrugged my shoulders, and then looked up at the night sky through the slightly frosted glass just over my head.

"Magic has always fascinated me, Loki. Do you think that I possess it as you do? Would mine be different because I am a female? Do we all possess it, but only some of us know how to use it?" I questioned quickly in a newfound excitement as I rolled onto my side and stared up at Loki's face. My friend smiled back at me as he pushed a handful of his dark onyx colored hair away from his pale face, and then released a heavy breath from between his lips.

"I believe that everyone possesses magic to some degree, Sigyn, but I think very few understand exactly how to use it or more importantly how to control it." He said as he turned his eyes down toward mine, and then smiled as I could tell that he could sense the excitement practically radiating from my expression.

"And, me? What do you think about me? Do you think that I understand it? Or that I could control it?" I asked already imagining Loki teaching me to cast illusions, and all of the jokes that I could play on my parents and older brother once gaining that knowledge.

"Sigyn, I believe that you have a magic inside of you that could possibly be even stronger than mine, but that it is also far different from mine. I believe that if you try hard enough, one day, you could be one of the most powerful sorceresses in all of Asgard." Loki said with a smile as he stared down at me with kindness radiating from his stare. I smiled brightly as I let his every word rush into my mind, and then I tilted my head slightly to the side in the smallest amount of confusion.

"My father calls women who practice magic witches. Is that not the correct term for them?" I asked as I studied Loki's face carefully. Loki was silent for a moment, and then he slowly released another breath.

"To most, the words are interchangeable, but I believe that there is a difference." He said as he shifted his weight slightly where he lay, and then slowly lifted his arms from his sides just before sliding his hands lazily behind his head. I kept my eyes on him intently as I anxiously awaited for him to continue.

"And, what is the difference?" I asked carefully. Loki smiled as he shrugged.

"The difference is that you, Sigyn, are no witch." He said softly. I smiled as I stared at him, and then after a few silent moments, I returned to my place at Loki's side and then happily allowed him to continue reading to me once again.

The night carried on far more quickly than I had anticipated, and before I even realized it, I had fallen into a deep slumber cuddled up beside Loki and had allowed my head to fall ever so gently against his shoulder. My dreams were filled with exotic colors, breathtaking flowers, and the beautifully versed words that had just left Loki's lips only moments before, and excitement whirled around inside of my mind even though I was technically still at rest. Unfortunately, just as I was getting lost in the wonderful dreams that I found so pleasing, I suddenly heard the glass door to the rose garden roughly swing open and the heavy footsteps of someone move quickly inside. In a rush of confusion, I jumped up from my spot where I had been lounging beside Loki, and then I lifted my emerald eyes to find my father standing before me with anger on his face, and rage spewing from his lips.

"Sigyn! Girl, you have lied to me for the last time." My father yelled as he began making his way quickly toward me with his hands balled tightly into fists at his sides, and rage seething from his dark eyes. I jumped up onto my feet and took a few quick steps back in fear, and then watched as Loki slowly rose too, but instead stood confidently in front of me completely at ease.

"Sir, I do apologize for Sigyn's deception, but I assure you that she only did so on my behalf. I had something that I wanted to show her, and I requested that she be in my company tonight. Please do not be cross with her because of my actions." He said in a careful and completely respectful tone of voice as he stared intently in my father's direction. My father paused in his walking, and then released a heavy breath. I could tell that he was quickly remembering where he was and who it was that he was speaking to because had Loki not been a prince, I was certain that he definitely would not have been stopping or even pausing for that matter.

"Your Highness, I apologize for my harsh tone. It is just that it is not appropriate for my daughter to be out so late in such attire in this poor of weather. I am simply worried about her safety as well as her studies that she must attend to tomorrow morning. Sigyn, I believe that we should return home now, it is very late." My father said in a much different tone of voice than he had used originally as he nodded back toward me, and then took a quick step in the direction of the door behind him. I swallowed thickly as I still noted the rage lurking behind his dark brown eyes, and then I carefully took a small step forward moving slowly toward him.

"No need for apologies, Magnus. I would just hate for Sigyn to suffer for my poor judgment." Loki said as he straightened his stance, and then carefully slid his hands into his trouser pockets. For a boy of only fifteen with the long lanky form of a scholar, Loki definitely still did somehow have quite an intimidating presence. It was as if his power and influence came from somewhere hidden deep inside of him, and not from the impact of his physical form as most of the other men in our realm seemed to have.

"Sigyn, your mother is waiting." My father said as his eyes bore intensely into mine. I nodded as I released a breath, and then carefully began making my way across the cold greenhouse floors beneath my feet while attempting to lie to myself that I truly had nothing to fear in the night ahead of me.

"Goodnight, Loki." I said softly as I turned half way around and faked a smile back toward my friend. Loki nodded as he watched me and then quickly put on his usual devious grin.

"Until tomorrow." He said playfully, but I knew better than anyone to believe his words. As I turned back toward my father, I knew that I would not be seeing Loki tomorrow. I would be lucky to see him ever again.

The second that the large ice paned rose garden door closed behind me, my father grabbed tightly onto my small arm and began dragging me through the thick blanket of Asgardian snow that now felt frightfully frigid beneath my bare feet. He cursed under his breath about the nerve of the child prince thinking that he could even attempt to make excuses for his disappointment of a daughter, and then pulled me onto his dark horse that had been chained up to a nearby tree ever since he had first arrived. We rode without ever speaking back to the confines of my small home, but when we finally reached my cottage at the base of the mountains, I immediately longed for the silence that we had once had.

"Magnus, please! You do not understand her. She is just a child, and she does not see the error of her ways. The prince is her only friend. Can you not see how much he means to her? How much she means to him?" My mother begged as she frantically chased after my father as he moved quickly through the sitting room of our small mountainside home dragging me behind him as he made his way closer toward my bed chambers, and further away from the safety of my mother's arms.

"Can you not see how improper her relationship with that boy is? You are an attendant to the queen and I am a soldier to the king, Astrid! What would people think if they found out that she was spending her nights laying with the prince barely dressed?! What would the king think? What about the queen? She has to learn, Wife, and you know that. She cannot keep living by only her own rules and thinking that there is no penalty for what she does." My father yelled as he pushed open the door to my chambers, and then closed and locked it tightly behind him leaving my mother alone on its other side.

"Magnus, please! She is just a child!" My mother screamed from the other side of the door as I heard her hands beginning to bang against its worn wooden panels. I swallowed as I felt tears beginning to burn in my eyes, and the reality of what was about to happen beginning to crash down all around me. My father released a heavy breath as I heard the leather of his belt being ripped from his trousers, and then me being suddenly released from his grips. I cried against the floor that I had landed on with a thud, and then silently prayed that the gods would somehow rescue me from my fate even though I had in all honesty defied them just as much as the man now standing angrily behind me.

"Father, please. I swear to you that nothing improper has happened or would ever happen with Prince Loki. He is my friend, and that is all. He just wanted to show me a flower. He just wanted to read me one of his books." I sobbed as I turned and looked back to see my father standing behind me with his belt held tightly in his right hand.

"Sigyn, I have tried reason when dealing with you child, and it has never worked. Your behavior is unacceptable and it will change. You will take your punishment and you will learn or you will be punished every day until you do." He said in an angry and yet scared voice as he raised the belt higher into the air just over his shoulder. I turned my head back down toward the floor not wanting to see his action actually happen, and then just as I pressed my forehead down against the wooden floorboards beneath me, I quickly felt the first snap of his belt against the flesh of my already shaking back.

"No, please!" I screamed out as tears sprang uncontrollably from my eyes and began burning hot lines of fear down the soft skin of my face. Pain radiated throughout my entire body as the sharp sting of leather ripping at my skin began to eat at my flesh, but my tears were absolutely no use in ending my pain, so eventually I somehow convinced myself to stop even shedding them.

For what felt like hours, my father disciplined me in the only way that he knew how, and bluntly reminded me of the horrible transgression that I had committed against him. I laid on the floor crumbled into a ball as he whipped harshly at my disobedience until there was absolutely nothing left, and foolishly attempted to convince myself that after this night everything would still somehow be okay. I was not sure how many times that he struck me or if it was blood that I felt spilling down my back or simply my withheld tears, but by the end of the night when he had finally finished, I felt completely destroyed from the inside out. By the time that I heard my bedroom door open and my father finally leave, I was numb to the world that seemed to now be going on without me. My mother's voice entered my chambers in a myriad of screams as her delicately graceful body came down quickly next to mine, and I felt her begin to dab the flesh of my back with one of our softest of linen cloths. I was no longer crying as she finally gathered me into her arms, and I could barely even hear her as she attempted to soothe my pain that to be completely honest, I could no longer truly even feel.

"My sweet Sigyn, I am so sorry, Child. You are different and he does not understand. We must hide this part of you from him, and you must stay away from Prince Loki no matter how much it pains you to do so. This is the only way to keep you safe, My Love. This is the only way." She whispered as she rocked me carefully in her arms, and then after a few more breaths and one last tear at her heartbreaking words, I finally gave up the fight and allowed myself to eventually pass out. That night as I laid on the floor curled up in my mother's arms and wounded from the lesson that my father had insisted that I learned, a part of my childhood ended that I knew that I could never get back. I could never get back the innocence of believing that the truth would set me free, and I could never get back the friend that my father had so violently taken from me that night. The world around me had drastically changed in the simple blink of an eye, and even at my young age, I knew that there was so much more yet to come.

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thought I would get the next chapter up ASAP so that we could move right along in this story. This chapter, along with the next are outlining the beginning of Loki and Sigyn's relationship and take place when they are teenagers so obviously that is the reason for the angst lol. Beginning in Chapter 3, we will meet them again in adulthood and that is where the real fun begins (devious smile). I hope that everyone liked this chapter and I hope you will continue reading and letting me know what you think of this story. Thank you to any and every one that read the prologue and I hope that you all have a great Monday! -GoddessofMischief2014**


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